Flatulence and Aesthetics



 

Sculpture by Chinese artist Chen Wenling entitled "What You See Might Not Be Real" is on display at a gallery in Beijing, China. The artwork is a critique of the global financial crisis with the bull representing the golden bull of Wall Street and the man pinned to the wall representing the jailed financier Bernard Madoff. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) AP2009



Friday August 30 through Saturday October 12, 2013, Thunder-Sky, Inc. presents “The (F)art Show,” with an opening reception Friday August 30, 2013, 6 to 10 pm.  A scatological/phenomenological group show,  “The (F)art Show” is curated by  Golden Brown’s David Jarred and Kenton Brett.  Featured artists include:   Antonio Adams, Joel Armor, Mark Betcher, Emily Brandehoff, Kenton Brett, Golden Brown, Mark Cable, Emily Caito, Cate Douglas, Jared Dreyer, Jen Edwards, Jonathan Hancock, Dave Jarred, CT King, Bekka Sage, Philip Spangler, Anh Tran, Phillip Valois, Joey Versoza, and Carol Watkins.  Golden Brown is the moniker for David Jared and Kenton Brett, two Cincinnati artists who combine efforts to create videos, installation and live performances.  This is the first exhibit they’ve curated, but past projects include their hyper-colored dancing animals in the interactive video “Dance Madness” at last year’s ArtWorks Box Truck Carnival (held during the Midpoint Music Festival,) as well as exhibits at Prairie Gallery in Northside.  Below, the Golden Brown duo answer important questions concerning flatulence and aesthetics 

1.   Why "farts"? 

A: Farts are a part of our humanity - funny, painful, secret, and proud parts of being a person. The fart is also a great metaphor for the conceptual side of art making. Like creating a piece of art, a fart starts out as something personal and invisible inside of the artist. As both manifest in the physical realm, the creator is often surprised by the results. This show is a unique opportunity for artists to toot their own horns.

2.   What's the primary inspiration?

A: It all started when Bill Ross posted an article on a sculpture by Chinese artist Chen Wenling entitled "What You See Might Not Be Real". The article included a picture of the sculpture. It was a bull using a fart to propel himself, horns first, into the ass of a wall street trader, pinning the trader to the wall of the gallery. The use of a fart as a symbol of strength was fascinating in its contradiction to our cultural experience where farting is either only humorous or shameful. This led Bill Ross, Keith Banner, and Golden Brown on a thread of article and image sharing. This research uncovered a lot thought provoking uses of fart in a large variety of cultures; from the gaseous displays of strength and power of ancient Japanese fart scrolls to the humanizing farts of Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being and the Innu folk character Fartman (known as Matshishkapeu). It became very clear to us that this could be a really versatile topic for a show.

3.   Is this show a parody of the art world? 

A: Honestly the art world already parodies itself. This show has some real artistic merit in stretching the idea of art and art making to be more inclusive and democratic. What it all boils down to is that everyone in the world farts in a unique and personal way and every fart is an echo of our shared humanity. The most important part of this show for the public is that we have put together a group of artists that take their craft and content very seriously and are producing very imaginative and well made work. This show will put (f)art into a new context for anyone daring enough to let their guard down.

4.  What is Golden Brown?

A: You might remember Golden Brown Enterprises from their hyper-colored dancing animals in the interactive video “Dance Madness” at last years ArtWorks Box truck Carnival event held during the Midpoint Music Festival. Golden Brown is the collaborative art duo of Kenton Brett and David Jarred, and they specialize in finding ways to liven up art through their well-crafted videos, installations, and live performances. Now the duo can add exhibition curating to their list of artistic merrymaking.